The Napa Lake, located in Shangri-La County in the northwest of Yunnan Province, is a seasonal lake surrounded on three sides by mountains of 3,800 to 4,449 meters.
Every year it undergoes a radical transformation from resembling a small sea to becoming an alpine swamp meadowland. There are only a few alpine swamp meadowlands in Yunnan Province, and the Napa Lake is only one of them.
"The lake behind the forest", as its name means in Tibetan, grows in the late summer and early autumn and supplies water to the Green Dragon Pond, Nagchu River and Wangchuk River. During these seasons the water can cover a surface of thousands of hectares, resembling a small sea.
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
Photo shows Napa Lake in Shangri-La County, northwest Yunnan Province. [Photo provided by Xiaoyao Huanglaoxie/tianya.cn]
